FREED hostage Norman Kember is settling back into life at home with his family today after asking for a period of privacy to reflect on his experience.

The 74-year-old finally returned home yesterday after four months in captivity in Iraq, moving swiftly to defuse a row over whether he had thanked his SAS rescuers by reading aloud a handwritten statement in which he paid tribute to their courage.

But he declined to talk about his experience in captivity.

Meanwhile, his church indicated that the UK authorities had promised the Kember family they would not attempt a rescue unless they could be reasonably confident no-one would be killed.

The Christian peace activist, who spent 119 days in captivity, was freed in a multi-national military operation involving the SAS and other forces on Thursday.

He was one of four westerners seized on November 26 while on a visit to support the Canada-based international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

American Tom Fox, 54, was found shot dead in Baghdad earlier this month. There were signs he had been beaten before being killed.

Two Canadian fellow hostages, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were freed at the same time as Mr Kember.

Soldiers

Mr Kember had been criticised by the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mike Jackson, for failing to thank the soldiers who rescued him and his Canadian colleagues.

Gen Jackson said on Friday: "I am slightly saddened that there doesn't seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives."

Mr Kember said in his statement yesterday: "I do not believe that a lasting peace is achieved by armed force but I pay tribute to their courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue."

Sitting next to his wife in a hospitality lounge at Heathrow, Mr Kember told the media: "There is a real sense in which you are interviewing the wrong person."

And he added: "It is the ordinary people of Iraq that you should be talking to - the people who have suffered so much over many years and still await the stable and just society that they deserve."

He thanked those of many faiths who had appealed and prayed for his release and asked now to be left alone to reflect on his experiences.

The Rev Bob Gardiner, of the Harrow Baptist Church, said there had been close co-operation between the British government, himself and the Kember family since Mr Kember was kidnapped.

"We were impressed by the sensitivity with which it responded to our concerns about any possible use of force in any rescue attempt.

"We are thankful for the way in which they honoured their promises to intervene only when there was a considerable degree of assurance that there would be no loss of life."

Neither the Foreign Office nor the Ministry of Defence would comment on whether any promises were made to Mr Kember's family and friends about the nature of the rescue operation.